June 2008:
I just got back from Kerrville, Texas, where they have an annual festival that is songwriter-oriented. I was on a panel that worked with people's songs, I was there for three days, and the days were (for this musician) long ones. We started at 9 A.M. and went to 5. The first night after class I played at their Threadgill auditorium, which is open-air. Everything's open-air at Kerrville, come to think of it. I saw my friends Glenn and LaJeanna. Memory of August is about their lovely daughter, Gus.
There were five other people on the panel and all very knowledgeable. There was a lot of food for thought if you were into songwriting. I've done this thing once before at Kerrville and the first time (quite a while ago) I recall I came away feeling somewhat scornful because things seemed quite Nashville oriented, that is, aiming towards "commercial", and I turned my rather large nose up at commercial then because of feeling a rather large noseful of self doubt.
I mean when people make noise about hits, for someone who's never had a hit, well, how can you be sure that what you're doing is any good? And you know, you can't, if you base your judgement on hits and you have none, you can't ever be sure that what you do is any good. So what I do is I go well just making a living ought to say you've probably got your moments, relax. I mean really what a life. Also I gotta say I've gotten some reviews on Amazon that I should read every morning with breakfast.
But you know if I wasn't making a living I'd be like hey, Van Gogh sold one painting in his life, to his brother. Anne Hills told me that. She's well, thanks.
he had a damn hard row
his poor brother
had to go to a straight job)
So people go to these seminars at Kerrville to get their songs out, to have them commented on, messed with and maybe improved, to get a sense of where they stand. And the level of competence of these efforts varies quite a bit, as you may imagine. Though everyone was looking at the song from a point of view, different criteria, in the end we seemed united on what worked. When things didn't work was when people got more separate in their notions.
It takes courage to play one's songs under the circumstances at seminars like Kerrville's. Everybody wants to think that what they've got is real.
There was one guy who had a song that was so fun that you could just hear the record right away. I can't remember his name but the phrase "shake it up baby" was in the song and it was so catchy. If you see him, tell him I'd attempt a demo of this tune for nothing. So fun and didn't sound at all like Twist and Shout.
I got a Kerrville T-shirt, I love Kerrville, I can't explain, you have to be there.
P.S.
I thought they'd taken the Clancy Brothers doing The Dutchman off
Youtube but it's on still or again, and there's also one with Liam and Tommy
Makem doing it, too. On that one Liam does such a charming
introduction and the audience response gives you the feeling they're real familiar
with the song. I love living in the twenty-first century. OK bye.
Available now!
Songs from Bird Avenue --
words and sheet music for 16 of Michael's early songs.
